Contents

Early
years

The oldest of four children (one of whom died in infancy), Blair
grew up in Pittsburgh's Hill District, literally in the shadow of
the university—his childhood home is a mere 600 yards
(550 m) from the Pitt campus.[3]
Although he was the smallest of his siblings at birth, he was the
largest child in his class by the time he started school. Both of
his parents played basketball at Schenley High School, which was
located in North Oakland/Schenley Heights until 2007, and his uncle
ran the nearby Ammons Recreation Center, where he learned to play
the game.[3]

High school
career

Blair played as a four year starter at Schenley High. While
there he scored 1,563 career points and finished with an overall
103–16 team record, including a 57–0 record within the Pittsburgh
City League. He was named the AP player of the state and made first
team all state his junior and senior year. Blair led Schenley to
the 2007 PIAA Class 4A state championship, the first state title
for a City League team since 1978; in the final against Chester
(and his future Pitt teammate Nasir Robinson), he had
18 points, 23 rebounds, and 6 blocked shots.[3]
He was also named Pittsburgh City League Player of the year three
times.

Blair's basketball accomplishments were not limited to school.
He also played in the summer leagues at Pittsburgh's Kennard Park,
known for their rugged competition. Blair remembered a championship
game in which his team played against a team led by current Ohio StatequarterbackTerrelle Pryor,
who was also a highly regarded basketball prospect: "They were
taking bets — I got DeJuan, I got Terrelle. I had 56 that night. We
won."[3]

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Recruiting

His parents admitted that if they had their way, Blair would
have gone to Tennessee. They liked Volunteers coach Bruce Pearl, and
thought it would be a good idea for their son to leave the city.
Blair himself had problems making up his mind; while considering as
many as 18 different scholarship offers, he was so
confused that one day he threw his cell phone across a room, breaking it.[3]

However, neither Blair nor his parents were a match for his
maternal grandmother Donna Saddler, who had played a major role in
his upbringing. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon recognized Saddler's importance
early in the recruiting process. On the first day he was allowed to
contact Blair, he called Saddler, asking to come to her house. She
told Dixon that they were having a family reunion at the house that day,
and invited him to come, which he did. When Dixon was down to his
last scholarship in the 2007 recruiting cycle, he called her,
telling her that Blair would need to take the scholarship at that
time. In the end, Saddler made the decision for him, telling him
"Pitt is it." She liked Dixon and the proximity of her home to the
school. Also, she was well aware that Pitt would be losing starting
center Aaron Gray to
graduation, which would have made Blair a likely candidate to start
if he attended. He officially announced his decision to attend Pitt
at the Ammons Recreation Center, where his basketball journey
began, and became the first City League player to play for Pitt
since Darelle Porter from 1987–1991.[3]

2008–2009

In the 2008–2009 season Blair continued to excel. He was
mentioned as a possible 1st team All-American candidate and was a
large factor in Pittsburgh's season helping them become a number
one seed in the NCAA tournament. The Panthers were 20–1 whenever
Blair had a double-double, the sole loss was to Villanova
in the elite eight. When he didn't have a double-double the
Panthers were 6–4. At the time an unnamed scout from the Phoenix Suns
predicted that if Blair developed a better mid-range shot his stock
in the draft would skyrocket.[2]

Impact on the city of
Pittsburgh

Blair is known not only for his basketball prowess, but also for
his outsized personality. His grandmother said that as a boy, he
"didn't want to hurt the other kids" while playing basketball. ESPN columnist Dana O'Neil wrote
about him, "He is a people collector, attracting fans and friends
as he walks through his neighborhood, across campus and on the
court."[3]
Blair is one of the most recognizable people in the city; his uncle
Michael Smith, who taught him to play basketball, recently
said,

“

You ride through here
with him, you get tired of beeping the horn. Everybody likes him. I
can't explain how much he means to people around here. I liked the
other schools and coaches he was looking at, but what did they have
that he couldn't get in his own backyard? I told him he had the
chance to change the face of an entire city. I truly believe that
he can and he will.[3]

”

After the 2008–09 season, Dixon will launch a program in which
Pitt players will mentor children from the Hill District. He saw
Blair's presence as a perfect opportunity to start the program —
"We've been talking about doing it for a long time. But now is the
perfect time. If we can't get it going with this guy, when can we?"
For his own part, Blair has said, "Someone once said to me that I'm
doing for the city of Pittsburgh what Barack [Obama] is doing for the United
States. I didn't even know what to say. That's just crazy."[3]

Blair is the first NBA player to come out of the city since Danny Fortson in
1997, and the first with deep roots in the city—birth, city high
school, and college—since Mel Bennett in the 1970s. (Fortson spent
most of his youth in Altoona, Pennsylvania before
moving to Pittsburgh during his high school career.)[3]

NBA

On June 25, 2009 Blair was drafted by the San Antonio
Spurs in the second round with 37th overall pick. His stock
fell because of questions surrounding his durability and knee
surgeries. Blair signed with the Spurs within weeks of the draft on
July 17.[10] Blair
made his NBA debut in game 1 against the New Orleans
Hornets, he finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds[11]
ranking second in ESPN's "Top 50" Rookie Ranking.[12]

On January 13, 2010 Blair became the only San Antonio
Spurs rookie to record a 20-20 (at least 20 in any two
statistical categories) since Tim Duncan. He finished with 28 points and
21 rebounds (10 were offensive rebounds) against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs
prevailed in overtime 109-108.